Gay

In 2019, most of us have become pretty familiar with gay culture & their surrounding communities. Many large cities even host yearly parades to celebrate gay artistic & social contributions. But even as recently as the 1950s & 60s, the gay community had a heck of a time trying to meet, date, & interact with other like-minded men. Culturally speaking, the gay community hadn’t yet come out into the mainstream. Many segments of society still held a lot of beliefs & opinions that contradicted gays, making for some truly uncomfortable situations.

But just because gay culture has made a lot of forwarding leaps in the last few decades, doesn’t mean that it isn’t still a challenge for gay men to find romantic partners. Add to that the incredible diversity contained within the gay dating scene and you’ve got yourself what can often be a daunting, if not downright discouraging struggle.

But fear not! Below, we’ve put together a list of some of the best gay dating apps & sites currently available to the general public. By following our suggestions, it’s quite likely that you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for, so read on!

The Ultimate Gay Dating – List Of Options

1) Grindr

The first app on our list is Grindr, a very popular dating app within the gay community. It follows roughly the same sort of design as Tinder, with users browsing profiles and selecting those they deem the most attractive by swiping right or left on their profile photos.

Where the app differs from its contemporaries is with its different options for reaching out. Members can either message folks traditionally, or use a feature called “Tap.” Tapping another user prompts you to send them a brief message that says “looking, friendly, or hot,” which give the person a clear idea of your intentions. If you check your own Taps list, you’ll see who’s been tapping you.

Grindr’s app offers a few features that cater to the gay community. The first of these are “Gaymojis,” which are a special set of downloadable emojis that depict men in…shall we say “fun & exciting” poses? The second feature can only be seen during the signup process, and that’s the sexual health section. While not true for all men, the gay community has been rocked by sexually-transmitted diseases over the years, a problem that Grindr was sure to address during the initial development of their app.

Grindr is offered to its users completely free, both for Android and iOS platforms, and is consistently one of the most downloaded dating apps for either device. With such an incredibly large community of active users, meeting your match for the night (or for life) can happen almost instantly.

2) Jack’d

Next up is a gay dating app specifically for people of color, Jack’d. Jack’d especially sensitive to the plight of the “gay black man,” an approach that’s not typically seen on the “standard” gay apps & sites on the market. These tend to offer services more aimed at the “stereotypically gay” communities, often imagined as sandy-haired white men with chiseled bodies & perfect teeth. Instead, the Jack’d community is a bit more sophisticated than what’s normally found, with many of its users tending to be around their early to mid-30s. Nude photos are completely banned, and cheap advertisements are notably (and wonderfully) absent.

Jack’d has also managed to break away from the trend of “Tinder clones”, instead, letting its users get a little more specific about what type of man they’d like to find. These specifics include gay scenes like tinks, otters, bears, and cubs, along with categories like “bi-curious” or “long-term relationships only.” When visitors see a profile they like, they simply check a box and wait for a reply or opening message.

Jack’d parent company, Online Buddies, claims that their app is the single fastest growing gay hookup app in the world, which is quite the brag. Luckily, with over 100,000 downloads since its latest release, they might just be telling the truth.

3) Growlr

Next in line is Growlr, a gay dating app specifically for those who’re into bears, or overtly masculine gay men who oftentimes are into bodybuilding culture & social media.

Like most dating apps, Growlr offers location-based dating services, allowing individuals to search for other nearby locals. Users can also engage in other typical functions like messaging, member searches, and the ability to view photo galleries. They also have their “bear bar” and “bear-run” searches, which allow users to find out what businesses in their area are friendly to this subset of the gay scene.

While the app itself is free, you can enhance the reach of your profile by using their “Shout” feature. Shout bypasses the normal messaging system and puts your correspondences at the front of the line for a small additional fee.

Growlr’s been inconsistent operation since 2010 and is the perfect tool for any gays looking to hunt themselves a bear or two. With roughly 10 million active users, Growlr offers an incredibly large pool of men to choose from, so why not download it and give it a shot?

4) Grizzly

Our last app today is Grizzly, another bear-specific app that offers a truly slick, modern-looking design along with seamless functionality. This app caters primarily to short-term connections and has more recently gained popularity with traveling members of the military.

Once you’ve downloaded Grizzly, signing up is quick & easy, taking only a couple of minutes. To keep things easy, Grizzly downloads images from your Facebook & Instagram profiles. This means that you don’t have to bother with pesky uploads or attempting to take yet another “perfect” selfie.

If you’re a gay man whose lifestyle means that you don’t have a ton of time for messing around, Grizzly’s straightforward approach might just be the right fit for you.

Conclusion

Keeping safe in the digital age can be quite a challenge, especially when you’re trying to involve your love life. Regardless of which app you decide to use, be sure to use best practices when meeting people online. Use public spaces for first-time meetups, and keep sensitive personal data to yourself until you’re sure that you’ve met someone you can trust!

If you’re looking for more options, then head on over to the homepage and see what else has been covered.